Featured Author: Jason Harper

Nicole — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:02:39 +0000

Jesus Loves You The Review

Jesus Loves You, This I Know takes as its title a phrase that should have deep, soul-changing, heart-melting significance, but which instead has often become, in the words of the authors, “a trite, overused Christian cliche… a casual exchange in passing.” This is the problem authors Craig Gross and Jason Harper set out to tackle: the “hijacking” of the gospel message, the shift from a message of hope and love to a message of judgment and division.

Their way of reclaiming the meaning of that phrase is straightforward, if sometimes uncomfortable. They provide concrete examples out of personal experience to show how we can show the love of Jesus to those around us. Harper recounts his experiences as a cable company’s bill collector, going to the doors of those who can’t pay their bills. Gross discusses his surprisingly close relationship with the self-described “King of Porn,” Ron Jeremy. In both cases, Harper and Gross carry the love of Jesus outside the four walls of the church to those who need it desperately.

Above all, Jesus Loves You is a call to action — a call to every reader to follow in the footsteps of the authors, break out of our “holy huddles,” and go out to show Christ’s love to the world. If you don’t want to be convicted or challenged, avoid this book. If you’re looking for outside-the-box ways to impact your community for Jesus, read it and take it to heart.

Keep reading to learn about a special offer when you buy the book on Amazon THIS WEEK only.

A Conversation with Jason Harper

About a month ago I had the opportunity to talk Jason about Jesus Loves You. And this week I was able to spend some time with him while he was in town for the book tour (This photo was taken while Jason was in town).

NW: Jason, I loved the book. I loved the simple message and the personal stories that you and Craig shared in each of the chapters.

JH: Thank you. It was really important to Craig and I that we wrote a book that was really personal and about our experiences. We wanted readers to connect with the concept that Jesus not only loves them but also loves their neighbor who may not be anything like them.

NW: I was able to talk with Craig about the book and why he thought that the Jesus loves you message is such a difficult pill for the Church to swallow. What are your thoughts about that?

JH: That’s a really big question. One of the biggest obstacles that we face as a church is our pride. Pride can kill us spiritually just as fast, if not faster, than anything else can. Many people – not all people – but many people in the church are dishonest about living an authentic faith. What I mean is that they show up at church and try very hard to appear as if they have everything together. We’re too proud to admit that we have sins that we struggle with. When we have that kind of pride we become judgmental of other people’s sins. It’s like we want to cast others out in order to protect ourselves. That’s a dangerous game to play. We all need to realize that we all need grace and that Jesus loves everyone no matter who they are or what they have done.

NW: One of my biggest frustration is when I see Christians assign a point scale or rating system to sin as if some sins are worse then others. Do you see that often?

JH: All the time! Somewhere along the way we decided that some sins are worse than others. But, God doesn’t think that way. I don’t know if you’ve seen this but it seems like the sexual sins are the ones that people typically put at the top of that scale. We have Divorce Care groups in the church but things like addiction to pornography or homosexuality get placed at the top of the scale. They are viewed as the ultimate sin and we need to change that perception. This really hit home for me several years ago. At that time I really struggled with my weight and would preach from the pulpit about this kind of stuff without even thinking to look at my self. In the book we have a chapter titled Jesus Loves the Glutton. At that time I didn’t even realize how serious gluttony is or that I should repent of it. I don’t think i realized it because it hadn’t been placed very high on that manufactured point scale.

NW: My favorite chapter in the book is Jesus Loves the Disconnected. I loved reading about your time as the cable guy and your experience with Willie the Wino. In that example you went out into the world to meet people who needed to experience the love of Jesus yet you remained connected to a faith community so you could care for those you met. It was the perfect balance. For me it represented exactly what the church should be doing.

JW: In the book I describe how a woman at an event told me I would never understand how difficult it was for her because I worked in a church and surrounded myself with church people. Her comment suck with me and I decided to take a part time job in the collections department of a cable television company. My job was to drive out to people’s homes and disconnect their cable if they didn’t pay. That’s when I met Willie. The relationship that I was able to develop with him is an example of the kinds of relationship building outreaches we should be doing.

NW: What is the one thing that you hope readers will take away from this book?

JH: One thing? Well, first of all, Craig and I really tried to write a book that anyone could read. We didn’t want to write a book that was exclusively for churched people. That said, we hope that readers find that this book is something that they can share with both their Christian and non-Christian friends. I would hope that those who read this book and call themselves Christians will hear that Jesus loves them and that Jesus loves others no matter who they are or what they have done. I would hope that non-Christians would get the same message: Jesus loves you…this I know.

To learn more about the book check out the site here. To learn more about Jason you can check out his website, Twitter feed, or Facebook page.

Want a great deal on the book? Buy the book on Amazon THIS WEEK and get the following special promotion: